User interface for processing data by utilizing attribute information on data

ABSTRACT

A data processing apparatus including a data file storing section storing data files; a user interface section assigning first objects to respective data units, displaying the first objects on-screen, and accepting an operation on the data files in the form of an operation on the first objects, the data units each being a data file or a group of a plurality of data files stored in the data file storing section; a condition acquisition section acquiring a condition on attribute information attached to the data units, pertaining to contents of the data units; and a judgment section displaying on-screen a second object to which a function of searching for a data unit conforming to the condition is assigned, moving the second object within the screen according to an instruction from a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to data processing technology, and inparticular, to a data processing apparatus, a data processing method,and a data processing program which provide a user interface forprocessing data utilizing attribute information on the data.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the widespread use of digital still cameras and digital videocameras, it has become possible to easily record still images and movingimages in the form of digital data. Digital music data, as opposed toanalog data, are also in widespread use. The prevalence of the Internethas also made images, music, and other digital data available from webservers and the like.

The establishment of infrastructures for storing, reproducing, andenjoying digital data can result in enormous collections of data, makingit difficult to search for desired pieces of data. Accordingly,convenient user interfaces are desirable for managing stored dataappropriately.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been achieved in view of the foregoingcircumstances. It is thus a general purpose of the present invention toprovide data processing technology of higher convenience.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a data processingapparatus. This data processing apparatus includes: a data file storingsection which stores data files; a user interface section which assignsfirst objects to respective data units, displays the first objectson-screen, and accepts an operation on the data files or the group(s) inthe form of an operation on the first objects, the data units each beinga data file or a group of a plurality of data files stored in the datafile storing section; a condition acquisition section which acquires acondition on attribute information attached to the data units,pertaining to contents of the data units; and a judgment section whichdisplays on-screen a second object to which a function of searching fora data unit conforming to the condition is assigned, moves the secondobject within the screen according to an instruction from a user, andjudges if attribute information on a data unit corresponding to thefirst object displayed in the vicinity of the second object conforms toor is similar to the condition.

It should be appreciated that arbitrary combinations of the foregoingconstituting elements, and implementations of the invention in the formof methods, apparatuses, systems, and the like are also applicable asembodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary,not limiting, and wherein like elements are numbered alike in severalFigures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a data processingapparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of internal data in a filedatabase;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of internal data in a groupdatabase;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen which is displayed bya user interface section;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a list ofattribute information on a data file or a group is displayed;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting togroup a plurality of data units;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a pluralityof data units are grouped;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of the screen for acceptingto group a plurality of data units;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of the screen for acceptingto group a plurality of data units;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing steps of a data processing methodaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a secondobject is displayed;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which conditionson attribute information given to the second object are displayed;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen to appear when thesecond object is brought close to first objects;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen to appear when thesecond object is brought close to a first object;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing how objects are moved by forces actingbetween the objects;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a screen which displays how data units arecollected by using the second object;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a screen which displays how a first objectmerges into the second object;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagrams showing examples of a screen on which thesecond object is changed in color according to the number of data unitscollected;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing examples of a screen on which thesecond object is changed in transparency according to the number of dataunits collected;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are diagrams showing examples of a screen on which thesecond object is changed in transparency according to the number of dataunits collected;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are diagrams showing examples of a screen on which thesecond object is changed in shape according to the number of data unitscollected;

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams showing examples of a screen on which theamount of liquid accumulated in the second object is changed accordingto the number of data units collected;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are diagrams showing examples of a screen on which theamount of bubbles accumulated in the second object is changed accordingto the number of data units collected;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a screen which displays how aplurality of layers of liquids are accumulated corresponding to arespective plurality of types of attribute information;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing steps of the data processing methodaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a screen which displays how data units areclassified;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a screen which displays how data units areseparated;

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a screen which displays how data units areextracted;

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a screen which displays how data units arereleased; and

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing steps of the data processing methodaccording to the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described by reference to the preferredembodiment. This does not intend to limit the scope of the presentinvention, but to exemplify the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a data processing apparatus accordingto the embodiment. The data processing apparatus 10 includes a mouse 30,a processing section 40, a data file storing section 60, a file database62, a group database 64, an image processing section 66, and a displaysection 68. The mouse 30 is an example of a pointing device. In terms ofhardware components, this configuration can be practiced by a CPU of anarbitrary computer, a memory, a program loaded on the memory, etc. Whatare shown here are functional blocks to be achieved by the cooperationof these components. It is therefore understood by those skilled in theart that these functional blocks may be practiced in various forms suchas by hardware alone, by software alone, and by a combination of these.

The processing section 40 accepts user's operating instructions whichare input from the mouse 30, and performs processing on data filesstored in the data file storing section 60. Operations to be input fromthe mouse 30 include pointer movements, and clicks, drags, and drops onvarious types of buttons. The image processing section 66 displays auser interface screen created by the processing section 40 on thedisplay section 68.

The data file storing section 60 contains various data files such asstill images, moving images, sound, and documents. The data file storingsection 60 may be practiced by a storage device such as a hard diskdrive (HDD), ROM, and RAM, or a removable storage medium such as CD,DVD, and MD. Attribute information on the data files is attached to therespective data files. The attribute information on a data file mayinclude the name, path, type, data size, creator, creation date andtime, update date and time, and access date and time of the data file.It may otherwise be information pertaining to the contents of the datafile, such as parameters that are determined by scoring and digitizingthe contents of the data file in various aspects. If the data file is adocument file, the attribute information may include the number ofcharacters, the number of pages, keywords, characteristic words, andrelated documents. If the data file is a music file, the attributeinformation may include composer, lyric writer, arranger, player,conductor, key, genre, and play time. If the data file is a web page,the attribute information may include the number of outgoing links, thenumber of incoming links, and the number of page views. The attributeinformation on data files may be registered in a database forcentralized management, or attached to the respective data files. In thepresent embodiment, the attribute information on the data files isstored in the file database 62. The group database 64 containsinformation on groups of a plurality of data files.

FIG. 2 shows an example of internal data in the file database 62. Thefile database 62 has a file ID field 70, a filename field 71, a pathfield 72, a creation date and time field 73, an update date and timefield 74, a size field 75, and a plurality of attribute informationfields 76 to 81. The file ID field 70 contains IDs for identifying datafiles. The filename field 71 contains the names of the data files. Thepath field 72 contains the paths of the data files in the data filestoring section 60. The creation date and time field 73 contains thedates and times when the data files are created. The update date andtime field 74 contains the dates and times when the data files are lastupdated. The size field 75 contains the data sizes of the data files.

The attribute information fields 76 to 81 contain attribute informationpertaining to the contents of the data files. In the example of FIG. 2,the file contents are digitized with such indexes as “exciting,”“relaxing,” “refreshing,” “serious,” “light,” and “intellectual,” andthe resulting parameters are stored into the respective attributeinformation fields. For example, if the contents of a data file are anexciting action film, the “exciting” field has a high value. If thecontents of a data file are environmental music such as the sound ofwaves, the “relaxing” field has a high value. As will be describedlater, the attribute data attached to the data files determines actionsto be taken when the user makes an operation on the data files.

FIG. 3 shows an example of internal data in the group database 64. Thegroup database 64 has a group ID field 82, a group name field 83, a pathfield 84, file ID field 85, and a plurality of attribute informationfields 86 to 91. The group ID field 82 contains IDs for identifyinggroups. The group name field 83 contains the names of the groups. Thepath field 84 contains the path of a folder in the data file storingsection 60 if there is any group corresponding to the folder, i.e., ifall the data files included in the group are stored in the same folder.The file ID fields 85 contain the IDs of the data files included in thegroups. The attribute information fields 86 to 91 are intended tocontain the same attribute information as stored in the attributeinformation fields 76 to 81 of the file database 62. As will bedescribed later, the groups are also given pieces of attributeinformation which are stored in the attribute information fields 86 to91, respectively.

The processing section 40 includes a user interface section 41, anattribute information attachment section 42, a grouping section 43, acondition acquisition section 44, a judgment section 45, a collectionsection 46, a classification section 47, an extraction section 48, and arelease section 49. The user interface section 41 assigns first objectsto respective data units and displays them on the screen of the displaysection 68, the data units each being a data file or a group of aplurality of data files. The user interface section 41 also accepts anoperation on the data files or groups through an operation on the firstobjects from the mouse 30.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the screen displayed by the user interfacesection 41. In the example of FIG. 4, geometric shapes such as circlesand ellipses are displayed as first objects 100. These circles orellipses may be rendered as metaballs. Known techniques may be used formetaball rendering. Since data files and groups of a plurality of datafiles are expressed by the same objects, the user can handle the datafiles and the groups likewise by the same operations. This makes itpossible to provide an easy-to-understand, easy-to-operate userinterface.

The user interface section 41 may change the mode of display of thefirst objects 100 according to the attribute information attached to thedata files or groups. For example, the color shading inside the firstobjects 100 may be determined according to the values of user-specifiedattribute information. If the attribute information specified fordetermining the mode of display of the first objects 100 is “exciting,”then the user interface section 41 may color the interiors of the firstobjects 100 more highly as they have higher values in the “exciting”field 76 of the file database 62 or the “exciting” field 86 of the groupdatabase 64.

The user interface section 41 may change the display locations of thefirst objects 100 according to the attribute information attached to thedata files or groups. For example, the display locations of the firstobjects 100 may be shifted according to the values of user-specifiedattribute information. If the attribute information specified fordetermining the display locations of the first objects 100 is“exciting,” then the user interface section 41 may shift first objects100 toward the screen center as they have higher values in the“exciting” field 76 of the file database 62 or the “exciting” field 86of the group database 64. The user interface section 41 may also shiftfirst objects 100 toward screen edges as they have lower values.

The attribute information attachment section 42, when storing a new datafile that has no attribute information into the data file storingsection 60, attaches attribute information to the data file andregisters it to the file database 62. The attribute informationattachment section 42 may analyze the contents of the data file anddetermine the values to be stored in the respective attributeinformation fields 76 to 81. It may otherwise accept the values to bestored into the attribute information fields 76 to 81 from the user.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a screen on which a list of attributeinformation on a data file or group is displayed. The attributeinformation attachment section 42 reads the attribute information on thedata file or group corresponding to a first object 100 from the filedatabase 62 or the group database 64, and displays it in a list viewwhen the mouse 30 is right-clicked on the first object 100. Theattribute information attachment section 42 may accept usermodifications to the attribute information from this list view screen102.

(Data Merge)

The grouping section 43 accepts an operation for instructing to group aplurality of data units from the user via the mouse 30. The groupingsection 43 then groups the data units together, determines attributeinformation on the group, and attaches it to the group based on theattribute information attached to the individual data units. For theattribute information on a group, the grouping section 43 may determinea total sum, average, maximum value, minimum value, intermediate value,or the like of the attribute information on the data files or groups tobe grouped. The grouping section 43 may determine weighted averagesaccording to such factors as the amounts of data in each of therespective data units to be grouped, the order in which the data unitsare added, and the values of the attribute information. For example,higher weighting may be given to data units that have greater amounts ofdata. Higher weighting may also be given to older data units within thegroup. Higher weighting may also be given to data units that haveattribute information of higher values. As will be described later, themethod for calculating the attribute information on a group may bechanged according to the contents of the user operation. The groupingsection 43 may accept the attribute information on the group from theuser.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen for accepting to group a pluralityof data units. When the user selects a plurality of first objects 104 a,104 b, and 104 c with the mouse 30 and performs an operation forinstructing to group from the menu or the like, the grouping section 43groups the data units corresponding to the first objects 104 a, 104 b,and 104 c selected. If the data units to be grouped include at least oneexisting group, the grouping section 43 adds the other data files tothat group. Suppose, for example, that the data unit corresponding tothe first object 104 a is a group. The grouping section 43 thenregisters the IDs of the data files corresponding to the first objects104 b and 104 c into the file ID field 85 on the record of the groupcorresponding to the first object 104 a. Here, the grouping section 43may change the attribute information on the group according to theattribute information on the data files to be added. For example, if theattribute information on a group is determined by averaging theattribute information on the data files included in the group, thegrouping section 43 recalculates averages to determine the attributeinformation on the group when the data files are added to the group.

If the data units to be grouped do not include any group, i.e., all thedata units are single data files, then the grouping section 43 creates anew group consisting of those data files, and registers it into thegroup database 64. At this point, the grouping section 43 calculates theattribute information on the group from the attribute information on thedata files included in the group, and registers the IDs of the datafiles included in the group and the attribute information attached tothe group into the group database 64 in association with each other.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a screen on which the plurality of data unitsare grouped. Instead of the first objects 104 a, 104 b, and 104 ccorresponding to the data units to be grouped, a first object 106corresponding to the grouped data units appears on-screen. The firstobjects 104 a, 104 b, and 104 c corresponding to the data units that areincluded in the data unit corresponding to the first object 106 may bedisplayed inside the first object 106. The first object 106 may bemodified in shape, size, color, or other factors according to the numberof data units included in the group, the amounts of data, the types ofdata, the attribute information, etc.

Using such techniques, a plurality of data units can be grouped togetherby simple operations. Moreover, it is possible not only to group datafiles with each other, but also to handle data files and groups, or twoor more groups, as grouped together. It is also possible to group datafiles regardless of the locations where the data files are stored in thedata file storing section 60. Furthermore, attribute information can beautomatically attached to groups for management purpose. This canfurther improve user convenience.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show other examples of the screen for accepting to group aplurality of data units. When the user operates the mouse 30 to drag afirst object 108 a corresponding to a first data unit and put it intocontact with or drop it on a first object 108 b corresponding to asecond data unit, the grouping section 43 groups these data units.

The grouping section 43 may determine the method for calculating theattribute information on the group according to the positions,directions, and/or speeds of the first objects when coming into contactwith each other. For example, depending on the direction from which thefirst object 108 a is brought into contact with the first object 108 b,the grouping section 43 may determine which to give priority to, theattribute information on the first data unit corresponding to the firstobject 108 a or the attribute information on the second data unitcorresponding to the first object 108 b. More specifically, as shown inFIG. 8, if the first object 108 a is dragged into contact with the firstobject 108 b from the left of the first object 108 b, the groupingsection 43 may give a higher weighting to the attribute information onthe first data unit corresponding to the first object 108 a, therebygiving priority to the first data unit. As shown in FIG. 9, if the firstobject 108 a is dragged into contact with the first object 108 b fromthe right of the first object 108 b, the grouping section 43 may give ahigher weighting to the attribute information on the second data unitcorresponding to the first object 108 b, thereby giving priority to thesecond data unit. The weighting may be determined according to the speedat which the first object 108 a is brought into contact with the firstobject 108 b.

As will be described later, when the first object 108 a is dragged nearto the first object 108 b, the first object 108 b may be deformeddepending on the similarity between the attribute information on thefirst data unit corresponding to the first object 108 a and theattribute information on the second data unit corresponding to the firstobject 108 b. For example, when the data units are similar to eachother, the first objects are deformed as if attracting each other. Whenthe data units are not similar to each other, the first objects aredeformed as if repelling each other. Consequently, it is possible tosearch for data units similar to a certain data unit or to determinewhether or not data units to be grouped are similar to each other. Thiscan improve user convenience.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the steps of a data processing methodaccording to the embodiment. In FIG. 10, the steps for grouping datawill be described. Initially, the user interface section 41 consults thefile database 62 and the group database 64, and displays on-screen thefirst objects corresponding to data files or groups of a plurality ofdata files stored in the data file storing section 60 (S10). The userinterface section 41 accepts an instruction to group a plurality of dataunits (S12). If the data units to be grouped include any group (Y atS14), the grouping section 43 adds the other data units to that group(S16). If not (N at S14), it creates a new group and adds the data unitsto be grouped to that group (S18). The grouping section 43 may create agroup that includes one or more groups of a plurality of data files.That is, groups may be nested.

The grouping section 43 determines attribute information on the groupand attaches it to the group based on the attribute information on thedata units to be grouped (S20). The user interface section 41 displays afirst object corresponding to the group on-screen (S22). At this point,the first objects corresponding to the data units to be grouped may beerased from the screen. The mode of display of the first objectcorresponding to the group may be determined according to such factorsas the attribute information on the group and the amounts of data in thedata units included in the group.

(Data Determination)

The condition acquisition section 44 acquires conditions on theattribute information attached to the data files or groups. The judgmentsection 45 displays on-screen a second object, which is assigned to thefunction of searching for data units that conform to the conditionsacquired by the condition acquisition section 44. The judgment section45 moves the second object within the screen according to userinstructions, and judges if attribute information on data unitscorresponding to first objects displayed in the vicinity of the secondobject conforms to or is similar to the conditions. That is, the secondobject functions as a probe for searching for data units that haveattribute information conforming to or similar to the conditions.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a screen on which a second object isdisplayed. In the example of FIG. 11, a circle somewhat larger than thecircles and ellipses of the first objects 110 is displayed as a secondobject 112. The second object 112 may be rendered as a metaball as withthe first objects 110.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a screen on which conditions on theattribute information imposed on the second object are displayed. Thecondition acquisition section 44 displays the conditions on theattribute information to be imposed on the second object 112 in a listview when the mouse 30 is right-clicked on the second object 112, forexample. The attribute information attachment section 42 accepts userspecifications for the conditions on the attribute information from thislist view screen 114.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show examples of a screen to appear when the secondobject is brought close to first objects. The judgment section 45 judgesif the attribute information on the first objects 110 conforms to or issimilar to the conditions imposed on the second object 112. If theattribute information on the data units corresponding to first objects110 displayed near the second object 112 conforms to or is similar tothe conditions, the judgment section 45 deforms the first objects 110and/or the second object 112 as if the first objects 110 and the secondobject 112 attract each other as shown in FIG. 13. If the attributeinformation on the data units corresponding to first objects 110displayed near the second object 112 does not conform to or is notsimilar to the conditions, the judgment section 45 deforms the firstobjects 110 and/or the second object 112 as if the first objects 110 andthe second object 112 repel each other as shown in FIG. 14.

The judgment section 45 may judge the degrees of conformity to theconditions of the data units corresponding to first objects 110 thatfall within a predetermined distance from the second object 112, anddeform the first objects 110 and/or the second object 112. The degreesof conformity to the conditions may be determined, for example, bycalculating Euclidean distances or Manhattan distances of nth orderbetween n pieces of attribute information set as the conditions and npieces of attribute information on the data units corresponding to therespective first objects 110. Here, the smaller the calculated distancesare, the higher the degrees of conformity or similarity may bedetermined to be. If the conditions are set on certain pieces ofattribute information alone, a distance or inner product may becalculated with regard to only the conditioned pieces of attributeinformation. In this case, other attribute information similar to theconditioned pieces of attribute information may be taken into account.For example, given a condition that “refreshing”=“80,” data units havinghigh values in “relaxing,” which is similar to “refreshing,” may bejudged as being similar to the condition.

The judgment section 45 may determine the amounts of deformation of thefirst objects 110 and/or the second object 112 according to thedistances between the first objects 110 and the second object 112. Forexample, first objects 110 closer to the second object 112 may be givengreater amounts of deformation. The farther the first objects 110 arefrom the second object 112, the smaller the amounts of deformation maybe. In FIG. 13, the first object 110 a is closer to the second object112 than the first object 110 c is, and thus is deformed by a greateramount. This makes it possible to show more clearly if the data unitscorresponding to first objects 110 around the user-operated secondobject 112 conform to or are similar to the conditions.

The judgment section 45 may determine the amounts of deformation of thefirst objects 110 and the second object 112 according to the degrees ofconformity or similarity to the conditions of the attribute informationon the data units corresponding to the first objects 110. For example,the higher the degree of conformity or similarity to the conditions is,the greater the amount of deformation may be made. The lower the degreeof conformity or similarity to the conditions is, the smaller the amountof deformation may be made. In FIG. 13, the attribute information on thedata unit corresponding to the object 110 a has a higher degree ofconformity or similarity to the conditions than the attributeinformation on the data unit corresponding to the first object 110 bdoes. The first object 110 a is thus deformed as if being attracted tothe second object 112 by a greater amount. This makes it possible toshow the degrees of conformity or similarity to the conditions in a waythat is easy to understand visually.

The judgment section 45 may define an attractive force or repulsiveforce with such variables as the attribute information on the data unitcorresponding to a first object 110, the conditional attributeinformation given to the second object 112, and a distance between thefirst object 110 and the second object 112. Then, the judgment section45 may determine the amounts of deformation of the first object 110 andthe second object 112 depending on the attractive force or repulsiveforce. For example, the judgment section 45 may calculate a force thatis proportional to a value determined by subtracting a predeterminedconstant from a difference between pieces of attribute information onthe two, and inversely proportional to the square of the distancebetween the objects. The force calculated is then applied to the firstobject 110 and the second object 112 to deform the first object 110 andthe second object 112 through physical calculations.

The judgment section 45 may move the first objects 110 or the secondobject 112 according to the attractive forces or repulsive forcescalculated. FIG. 15 shows how objects are moved by forces acting betweenthe objects. A first object 110 d corresponding to a data unit that hasattribute information conforming to or similar to given conditionsapproaches the second object 112 as if being attracted. A first object110 e corresponding to a data unit that has attribute information notconforming nor similar to the conditions moves away from the secondobject 112 as if being repelled. Consequently, it is possible toautomatically collect first objects 110 corresponding to data unitsconforming to or similar to the conditions around the second object 112,with an improvement to user convenience.

The judgment section 45 may also judge similarities between the piecesof attribute information on data units and deform the first objectsdepending on the similarities as described above even when grouping thedata units. Suppose, for example, that the first object 108 a is draggednear to the first object 108 b as shown in FIG. 8 or 9. If the dataunits corresponding to these first objects have similar attributeinformation, the judgment section 45 deforms the first object 108 a andthe first object 108 b as if attracting each other, in the same way asis shown in FIG. 13. If not similar, the judgment section 45 deforms thefirst object 108 a and the first object 108 b as if repelling eachother, in the same way as is shown in FIG. 14. This makes it possible tovisually determine similarities between data units even when groupingthe data units or when moving the data units to other folders. Forexample, it is therefore possible to group data units of high similaritytogether or move data units to folders of high similarity.

Instead of the second object 112, the pointer of the mouse 30 may beprovided with the conditional attribute information. In this case, thepointer of the mouse 30 functions as a probe for searching for dataunits that have attribute information conforming to or similar to theconditions.

(Data Collection)

The collection section 46 collects data units conforming to or similarto conditions imposed on the second object. The second object functionsas a container for collecting data units that have attribute informationconforming to or similar to the conditions.

FIG. 16 shows a screen which displays how data units are collected usingthe second object. When the user drags the second object 112 to scan thescreen on which first objects 110 are scattered, the collection section46 adds data units conforming to or similar to the conditions imposed onthe second object 112 to a group corresponding to the second object 112.This allows the user to collect desired data units with an operationalsensation that resembles moving a magnet in iron sand to draw out andcollect iron particles from it.

The collection section 46 may collect data units conforming to orsimilar to the conditions when the distances between the second object112 and the first objects 110 corresponding to the data units fall belowa predetermined threshold. For example, when the user moves the secondobject 112, the collection section 46 reads attribute informationcorresponding to a data unit corresponding to a first object 110 thatoverlaps the second object 112, and determines its similarity to theconditions. If the similarity is higher than a predetermined threshold,the collection section 46 adds the data unit to the group correspondingto the second object 112.

The collection section 46 may define an attractive force or repulsiveforce with such variables as attribute information on the data unitcorresponding to a first object 110, attribute information that is setas the conditions, and a distance between the first object 110 and thesecond object 112. Then, the collection section 46 may collect the dataunit when the attractive force exceeds a predetermined threshold. Theattractive force may be defined so that it is proportional to thesimilarity between the attribute information on the data unitcorresponding to the first object 110 and the attribute information setas the conditions, and is inversely proportional to the distance or thesquare of the distance between the first object 110 and the secondobject 112. The collection section 46 may move the first object 110according to the attractive force or repulsive force.

The collection section 46 may change the threshold according to themoving speed of the second object 112. For example, if the second object112 is moving at high speed, the threshold may be raised so that firstobjects 110 having attribute information of higher similarity arecollected. If the second object 112 is moving at low speed, thethreshold is lowered so that first objects 110 having attributeinformation of lower similarity are also collected. This makes itpossible to provide an easy-to-understand, easy-to-operate userinterface.

When collecting data units, the collection section 46 may display howfirst objects 110 corresponding to the data units are taken into ormerged into the second object 112. FIG. 17 shows a screen which displayshow a first object 110 is merged into the second object 112. When thefirst object 110 and the second object 112 are merged, the first object110 may be erased. This can express in a way that is easy to visuallyunderstand that the data unit corresponding to the first object is takeninto a group of collected data units, corresponding to the secondobject.

The collection section 46 may determine the mode of display of thesecond object 112 according to the number of data units collected. Forexample, the collection section 46 may change the second object 112 incolor, transparency, size, and/or shape according to the number of dataunits collected. As shown in FIG. 18A, the second object 112 may bedisplayed in a reddish color when the number of data units is small. Asshown in FIG. 18B, it may be changed to a bluish color as the number ofdata units increases. As shown in FIG. 19A, the second object 112 mayalso be given high transparency when the number of data units is small.As shown in FIG. 19B, the transparency may be lowered as the number ofdata units increases. As shown in FIG. 20A, the second object 112 may begiven a small size when the number of data units is small. As shown inFIG. 20B, the size may be increased as the number of data unitsincreases. The collection section 46 may change the shape of the secondobject 112 according to the distribution of attribute information on thedata units collected. For example, as shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B, thesecond object 112 may be deformed into a star shape as the number ofdata units having high “exciting” values increases.

Assuming that the second object 112 is a closed surface, the number ofdata units collected may be expressed by displaying liquid, bubbles, orthe like being accumulated inside. For example, as shown in FIGS. 22Aand 22B, liquid may be accumulated in the second object 112 as thenumber of data units increases. As shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, bubblesmay be accumulated in the second object 112 as the number of data unitsincreases. The liquid accumulated inside may be changed in viscosity,refractivity, or the like according to the distribution of attributeinformation on the data units collected. The bubbles may be changed incolor, transparency, size, shape, etc. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 24, aplurality of layers of liquids corresponding to respective types ofattribute information may be displayed as if being accumulated.

The collection section 46 may automatically collect data units byautomatically moving the second object 112 according to predeterminedrules. For example, the second object 112 may be moved to spiral outwardfrom the center of the screen so that data units conforming to orsimilar to given conditions are collected from among the data unitscorresponding to the first objects 110 scattered on the screen. Thismakes it possible to collect user-desired data units automatically, andprovide a unique fun-to-see user interface by displaying how the dataunits are collected on-screen.

Instructing operations for moving the second object 112 may be inputfrom such input devices as cursor keys and a mouse, or through a tiltsensor or the like that is arranged in a controller for the user to gripand operate. In the latter case, the user can tilt the controller tomove the second object and collect data units. This makes possible anamazing user interface of high operability.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing steps of the data processing methodaccording to the embodiment. With reference to FIG. 25, a descriptionwill be given of the steps for judging and collecting data. Initially,the user interface section 41 consults the file database 62 and thegroup database 64, and displays first objects corresponding to datafiles or groups of a plurality of data files stored in the data filestoring section 60 on-screen (S30). The condition acquisition section 44acquires conditions on the attribute information attached to the datafiles or groups, and associates the second object 112 with thoseconditions (S32). The judgment section 45 moves the second object 112according to user instructions (S34). At this point, the judgmentsection 45 judges if the attribute information on the data unitcorresponding to each first object 110 displayed on-screen conforms toor is similar to the conditions. If conforming or similar (Y at S36),the judgment section 45 deforms the first object 110 and/or the secondobject 112 as if the first object 110 and the second object 112 attracteach other (S38). If not (N at S36), the judgment section 45 deforms thefirst object 110 and/or the second object 112 as if the first object 110and the second object 112 repel each other (S40). The judgment section45 may target the judgment on first objects 110 that are displayedwithin a predetermined distance from the second object 112.

If the foregoing condition for collecting first objects 110 is satisfied(Y at 42) such as when the second object 112 is brought within thepredetermined threshold distance from the first objects 110, then thecollection section 46 displays how the first objects 110 are merged intothe second object 112 (S44). Then, the collection section 46 erases thefirst objects 110, determines the mode of display of the second object112 according to such factors as the number of data units collected tothe second object 112 and the attribute information thereon, anddisplays the second object 112 (S46).

When the user clicks on ENTER button or otherwise operates to end thecollection of first objects 110, the collection section 46 adds a recordon the group corresponding to the second object 112 to the groupdatabase 64, and adds the file IDs of the data files corresponding tothose first objects which have been collected (S48). It also determinespieces of attribute information on the group corresponding to the secondobject 112 and stores them into respective attribute information fields.The second object 112 will subsequently be handled as a first object 110that includes a plurality of data files. In situations where the secondobject 112 is managed separately from the first objects 110 as a specialobject having the collecting function, a record corresponding to thesecond object 112 may be created and managed separately in the groupdatabase 64. In this case, the collection section 46 may register thedata files corresponding to the collected first objects 110 into thegroup database 64 when the first objects 110 are collected by the secondobject 112. Alternatively, the data files may be registered into thegroup database 64 at the end of the collection process, such as when themovement of the second object 112 is stopped and when the user clicksthe ENTER button.

It should be appreciated that the first objects 110 may have the datacollecting function. In this case, the attribute information attached tothe first objects 110 may be used as the conditions for collection. Whena first object 110 is moved, the collection section 46 collects otherfirst objects having attribute information similar to that of the firstobject 110 and registers them into the group corresponding to the firstobject 110.

(Data Classification)

The classification section 47 accepts an operation for instructing toclassify a plurality of data units included in a data unit, theoperation being made on a first object corresponding to the data unitthat includes the plurality of data units. The classification section 47then deforms the first object according to the distribution of attributeinformation on the plurality of data units included in the data unitcorresponding to the first object.

FIG. 26 shows a screen which displays how data units are classified.When the user clicks on or presses a first object 110 that correspondsto a data unit including a plurality of data units for more than apredetermined period, the classification section 47 deforms the firstobject 110 according to the distribution of attribute information onthose data units. Here, a description will be given of the case whereclassification of a first object 110 that corresponds to a group orfolder including a plurality of data units is instructed. The samediscussion holds true, however, when classification of a second objecthaving a plurality of data units collected is instructed.

The classification section 47 may determine the shape of the firstobject 100 by mapping the data units with a plurality of types ofattribute information on the axes. In the example of FIG. 26, data unitsare mapped with two pieces of attribute information “exciting” and“relaxing” on the axes. More specifically, data units having high“exciting” values are mapped to the right, and data units having high“relaxing” values are mapped to the top. This determines the shape ofthe first object 110. The densities of the data units mapped may berendered in different levels of color tone, transparency, or the like inthe first object 110.

The classification section 47 may determine the amount of deformation ofthe first object 110 according to the strength or duration of theclicking or pressing operation. The higher the strength with which thefirst object 110 is clicked or pressed, or the longer the duration forwhich the first object 110 is clicked or pressed, the greater the scaleson the axes for mapping the data units may be made to increase theamount of deformation of the first object 110. This allows the user toadjust the magnitude of classification of the data unit.

The classification section 47 may give the pointer of the mouse 30conditions on attribute information. Then, when the pointer is put neara first object 110 that includes a plurality of data units, theclassification section 47 may deform the first object 110 according tosimilarities between the attribute information on the plurality of dataunits included in the data unit corresponding to the first object 110and the attribute information given to the pointer. For example, theplurality of data units included in the data unit corresponding to thefirst object 110 may be mapped depending on their degrees of conformityor similarity to the conditions given to the pointer, whereby the shapeof the first object 110 is determined according to that distribution.This makes it possible to classify data units included in a first object110 according to the conditions given to the pointer. The amount ofdeformation of the first object 110 may be determined according to thedistance between the pointer and the first object 110. For example, theamount of deformation of the first object 110 may be increased as thepointer approaches the first object 110.

(Data Separation)

The classification section 47 accepts an operation for instructing toseparate part of the data units classified, and separates, from the dataunits corresponding to the first object, data units having attributeinformation corresponding to the separation-instructed part of the firstobject that is deformed according to the attribute information.

FIG. 27 shows a screen which displays how data units are separated. Whenthe user drags part of the first object 110 corresponding to a data unitthat includes a plurality of data units, the classification section 47separates the data unit(s) corresponding to the dragged part from thedata unit corresponding to the first object 110, thereby creating a newgroup. As shown in FIG. 26, the first object 110 is deformed by mappingthe data files with a plurality of pieces of attribute information onaxes. The classification section 47 thus separates the data unit(s)having attribute information within a predetermined range (set ofcoordinates) about the drag start point from the group corresponding tothe first object 110. The mouse pointer or the like may be used to setthe range of separation. The classification section 47 deletes the fileIDs of the data files having attribute information corresponding to theseparation-instructed part from the file ID fields 85 on the record ofthe group corresponding to the first object 110 in the group database64. The classification section 47 also adds a new group to the groupdatabase 64, and adds the file IDs of the separated-out data files tothe file ID fields 85 on the record of that group. The classificationsection 47 calculates and updates the attribute information on the groupcorresponding to the first object 110, and calculates and recordsattribute information on the newly created group. The user interfacesection 41 redisplays the first object 110, and also displays a firstobject corresponding to the newly created group.

The classification section 47 may determine the thresholds of theattribute information on the data units to be separated according to thespeed of the operation. For example, when the mouse pointer is draggedquickly, the thresholds are raised so that data units corresponding onlyto locations near the edges are separated. With a slow drag, thethresholds are lowered to separate out more data units.

(Data Extraction)

The extraction section 48 accepts an operation for instructing to narrowdown data units from a plurality of data units included in a data unitcorresponding to a first object 110, based on conditions on theattribute information attached to the data unit. The extraction section48 then releases data units that are low in their degree of conformityto the conditions, thereby extracting data units that are high in theirdegree of conformity to the conditions.

FIG. 28 shows a screen which displays how data units are extracted. Whenthe user drags the first object 110 so as to reciprocate or shake it,the extraction section 48 sorts out the data units according to theirdegree of conformity to given conditions. The extraction section 48releases data units that are low in their degree of conformity to theconditions from the group corresponding to the first object 110, so thatonly data units high in their degree of conformity to the conditionsremain in the group. When the operation for instructing to narrow downdata units is made on a second object 112 that has data units collected,the extraction section 48 narrows down the data units according to theconditions given to the second object. When the operation forinstructing to narrow down data units is performed on a first object 110corresponding to a data unit that includes a plurality of data units,the extraction section 48 may extract data units conforming to orsimilar to the attribute information on the data unit corresponding tothe first object 110. The extraction section 48 may alternatively acceptthe conditions for narrowing down data units from the user.

The extraction section 48 determines the thresholds of the attributeinformation for narrowing down data units based on the conditions, andseparates data units that have attribute information lower in theirdegree of conformity to the conditions than the determined thresholdsfrom the group corresponding to the first object 110. The extractionsection 48 deletes the file IDs of the data files having the attributeinformation to be separated, from the file ID fields 85 on the record ofthe group corresponding to the first object 110 in the group database64. At this point, the extraction section 48 may create a new group tocontain the data units separated, or may simply release the data unitsfrom the group. The extraction section 48 calculates and updates theattribute information on the group corresponding to the first object110, and calculates and records attribute information on the newlycreated group if necessary. The user interface section 41 redisplays thefirst object 110, and also displays a first object corresponding to thenewly created group or the first objects corresponding to the respectivedata units separated.

The extraction section 48 may determine the thresholds of the attributeinformation on the data units to be extracted, according to the speed ofthe operation. When a first object 110 is reciprocated or shakenquickly, the extraction section 48 may raise the thresholds so that onlydata units high in their degree of conformity to the condition remain inthe group for extraction. When the first object 110 is reciprocated orshaken slowly, the extraction section 48 may lower the thresholds sothat data units low in their degree of conformity to the conditions alsoremain in the group. Consequently, the user can extract data units withan operational sensation resembling the sifting of data.

(Data Release)

The release section 49 accepts an operation for instructing to release aplurality of data units that are included in a data unit correspondingto a first object 110, and releases the grouping of the data unitcorresponding to the first object 110.

FIG. 29 shows a screen which displays how data units are released. Therelease section 49 releases the data units included in the groupcorresponding to the first object 110 when the user performs any one ofthe following operations: clicking or pressing the first object 110 witha strength higher than or equal to a predetermined threshold; clickingor pressing the first object 110 for a period longer than or equal to apredetermined threshold; and dragging the first object 100 toreciprocate or shake it at a speed higher than or equal to apredetermined threshold. The release section 49 deletes the file IDs ofall the data files from the file ID fields 85 on the record of the groupcorresponding to the first object 110 in the group database 64. Therelease section 49 may delete the record of the group corresponding tothe first object 110. Here, as shown in FIG. 29, the release section 49may display how the first objects 116 corresponding to the data unitsincluded in the data unit corresponding to the first object 110 pop outfrom the original first object 110. The user interface section 41 mayerase the first object 110 from the screen, and display the firstobjects 116 corresponding to the data units included in the data unitcorresponding to the first object 110 on-screen.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing steps of the data processing methodaccording to the embodiment. In FIG. 30, the steps for classifying,separating, extracting, and releasing data are described. Initially, theuser interface section 41 consults the file database 62 and the groupdatabase 64, and displays on-screen a first object corresponding to agroup of a plurality of data files stored in the data file storingsection 60 (S60). If instructed by the user to classify data (Y at S62),the classification section 47 classifies the data units included in thefirst object and deforms the first object (S64). Moreover, if instructedto separate data (Y at S66), the classification section 47 separates thedata unit(s) corresponding to the designated part from the groupcorresponding to the first object (S68).

If instructed to extract data (Y at S70), the extraction section 48narrows down data units to be included in the group corresponding to thefirst object according to predetermined conditions (S72). If instructedto release data (Y at S74), the release section 49 releases the dataunits included in the group corresponding to the first object from thegroup (S76).

The provision of such a user interface makes it possible to arrange datafiles appropriately and find desired data files when accumulating alarge number of data files. Such technology is particularly useful whenclassifying and searching for data files according to ambiguous or vagueconditions.

Up to this point, the present invention has been described inconjunction with the embodiment thereof. This embodiment has been givensolely by way of illustration. It will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various modifications may be made to combinations of theforegoing constituting elements and processes, and all suchmodifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the presentinvention.

1. A data processing apparatus comprising: a data file storing sectionstoring a plurality of data files; a data unit comprising one or moredata files from the plurality of data files; one or more attributesassociated with each data file of the plurality of data files; a userinterface section assigning a file object to the data unit, displayingthe file object on a screen, and accepting an operating on the fileobject as an operation on the one or more data files in the data unit; acondition acquisition section determining one or more conditions,respectively, of the one or more data files in the data unit fromrespective attributes of the one or more data files in the data unit;and a judgment section: assigning a searchable condition object to theone or more conditions determined, the searchable condition object beingsearchable for the one or more conditions; displaying the searchablecondition object on the screen; moving the searchable condition objectcloser to the file object according to user input; and judging whether,when the searchable condition object is moved within a vicinity of thefile object, the one or more conditions of the searchable conditionobject are similar to the one or more attributes of the one or more datafiles in the data unit represented by the file object, wherein, when thesearchable condition object is moved within the vicinity of the fileobject, the judgment section changes the shape of the file object or theshape of the searchable condition object to show attraction if the oneor more conditions of the searchable condition object are similar to theone or more attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object.
 2. The data processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the judgment section determines an amountof change of the shape of the file object or the shape of the searchablecondition object according to a distance between the file object and thesearchable condition object.
 3. The data processing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the judgment section determines an amount of changeof the shape of the file object or the shape of the searchable conditionobject according to a degree of similarity between the one or moreconditions of the searchable condition object and the one or moreattributes of the one or more data files in the data unit represented bythe file object.
 4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the judgment section determines an amount of change of the shapeof the file object or the shape of the searchable condition objectaccording to the one or more conditions of the searchable conditionobject, the one or more attributes of the one or more data files in thedata unit, and the distance between the file object and the searchablecondition object.
 5. The data processing apparatus according to claim 4,wherein the judgment section moves the file object or the searchablecondition object according to the one or more conditions of thesearchable condition object, the one or more attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit, or the distance between the fileobject and the searchable condition object.
 6. The data processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the file object is representedby an icon for the data file or a folder containing the data file; andthe searchable condition object is represented by a pointer of apointing device.
 7. The data processing apparatus according to claim 6,wherein: when an icon is dragged by the pointing device, the conditionacquisition section acquires one or more attributes associated with thedata file or folder corresponding to the dragged icon as the condition;and the judgment section judges the conformity or similarity to thecondition based on a similarity between the one or more attributesacquired as the condition and the one or more attributes attached to thedata file or folder corresponding to an icon displayed in the vicinityof the pointer.
 8. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising a collection section, which collects a data unitconforming or similar to the one or more conditions of the searchablecondition object.
 9. The data processing apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the collection section collects the data unit conforming orsimilar to the one or more conditions of the searchable condition objectwhen the distance between the searchable condition object and the fileobject corresponding to the data unit falls below a predeterminedthreshold.
 10. The data processing apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the collection section determines whether the collection sectioncollects a data unit according to the one or more conditions of thesearchable condition object, the one or more attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit, or the distance between the fileobject and the searchable condition object.
 11. The data processingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the collection sectiondetermines whether the collection section collects a data unit furtheraccording to moving speed of the searchable condition object.
 12. A dataprocessing apparatus comprising: a data file storing section storing aplurality of data files; a data unit comprising one or more data filesfrom the plurality of data files; one or more attributes associated witheach data file of the plurality of data files; a user interface sectionassigning a file object to the data unit, displaying the file object ona screen, and accepting an operating on the file object as an operationon the one or more data files in the data unit; a condition acquisitionsection determining one or more conditions, respectively, of the one ormore data files in the data unit from respective attributes of the oneor more data files in the data unit; and a judgment section: assigning asearchable condition object to the one or more conditions determined,the searchable condition object being searchable for the one or moreconditions; displaying the searchable condition object on the screen;moving the searchable condition object closer to the file objectaccording to user input; and judging whether, when the searchablecondition object is moved within a vicinity of the file object, the oneor more conditions of the searchable condition object are similar to theone or more attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object, wherein, when the searchable conditionobject is moved within the vicinity of the file object, the judgmentsection changes the shape of the file object or the shape of thesearchable condition object to show repulsion if the one or moreconditions of the searchable condition object are not similar to the oneor more attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object.
 13. A data processing apparatuscomprising: a data file storing section storing a plurality of datafiles; a data unit comprising one or more data files from the pluralityof data files; one or more attributes associated with each data file ofthe plurality of data files; a user interface section assigning a fileobject to the data unit, displaying the file object on a screen, andaccepting an operating on the file object as an operation on the one ormore data files in the data unit; a condition acquisition sectiondetermining one or more conditions, respectively, of the one or moredata files in the data unit from respective attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit; a judgment section: assigning asearchable condition object to the one or more conditions determined,the searchable condition object being searchable for the one or moreconditions; displaying the searchable condition object on the screen;moving the searchable condition object closer to the file objectaccording to user input; and judging whether, when the searchablecondition object is moved within a vicinity of the file object, the oneor more conditions of the searchable condition object are similar to theone or more attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object, and a collection section, which collectsa data unit conforming or similar to the one or more conditions of thesearchable condition object, wherein the collection section erases thefile object corresponding to the data unit when collecting the dataunit.
 14. A data processing apparatus comprising: a data file storingsection storing a plurality of data files; a data unit comprising one ormore data files from the plurality of data files; one or more attributesassociated with each data file of the plurality of data files; a userinterface section assigning a file object to the data unit, displayingthe file object on a screen, and accepting an operating on the fileobject as an operation on the one or more data files in the data unit; acondition acquisition section determining one or more conditions,respectively, of the one or more data files in the data unit fromrespective attributes of the one or more data files in the data unit; ajudgment section: assigning a searchable condition object to the one ormore conditions determined, the searchable condition object beingsearchable for the one or more conditions; displaying the searchablecondition object on the screen; moving the searchable condition objectcloser to the file object according to user input; and judging whether,when the searchable condition object is moved within a vicinity of thefile object, the one or more conditions of the searchable conditionobject are similar to the one or more attributes of the one or more datafiles in the data unit represented by the file object, and a collectionsection, which collects a data unit conforming or similar to the one ormore conditions of the searchable condition object, wherein thecollection section displays how the file object corresponding to thedata unit is taken into or merged into the searchable condition objectwhen collecting the data unit.
 15. A data processing apparatuscomprising: a data file storing section storing a plurality of datafiles; a data unit comprising one or more data files from the pluralityof data files; one or more attributes associated with each data file ofthe plurality of data files; a user interface section assigning a fileobject to the data unit, displaying the file object on a screen, andaccepting an operating on the file object as an operation on the one ormore data files in the data unit; a condition acquisition sectiondetermining one or more conditions, respectively, of the one or moredata files in the data unit from respective attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit; a judgment section: assigning asearchable condition object to the one or more conditions determined,the searchable condition object being searchable for the one or moreconditions; displaying the searchable condition object on the screen;moving the searchable condition object closer to the file objectaccording to user input; and judging whether, when the searchablecondition object is moved within a vicinity of the file object, the oneor more conditions of the searchable condition object are similar to theone or more attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object, and a collection section, which collectsa data unit conforming or similar to the one or more conditions of thesearchable condition object, wherein the collection section determinesmode of display of the searchable condition object according to anamount of data units collected.
 16. A data processing apparatuscomprising: a data file storing section storing a plurality of datafiles; a data unit comprising one or more data files from the pluralityof data files; one or more attributes associated with each data file ofthe plurality of data files; a user interface section assigning a fileobject to the data unit, displaying the file object on a screen, andaccepting an operating on the file object as an operation on the one ormore data files in the data unit; a condition acquisition sectiondetermining one or more conditions, respectively, of the one or moredata files in the data unit from respective attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit; a judgment section: assigning asearchable condition object to the one or more conditions determined,the searchable condition object being searchable for the one or moreconditions; displaying the searchable condition object on the screen;moving the searchable condition object closer to the file objectaccording to user input; and judging whether, when the searchablecondition object is moved within a vicinity of the file object, the oneor more conditions of the searchable condition object are similar to theone or more attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object, and a collection section, which collectsa data unit conforming or similar to the one or more conditions of thesearchable condition object, wherein the collection section collectsdata units automatically by moving the searchable condition objectautomatically according to a predetermined rule.
 17. A data processingmethod comprising: storing a plurality of data files and creating a dataunit comprising one or more data files from the plurality of data files;assigning a file object to the data unit, displaying the file objecton-screen, and accepting an operating on the file object as an operationon the one or more data files in the data unit; determining one or moreconditions, respectively, of the one or more data files in the data unitfrom respective attributes of the one or more data files in the dataunit; assigning a searchable condition object to the one or moreconditions determined, the searchable condition object being searchablefor the one or more conditions; displaying the searchable conditionobject on the screen and moving the searchable condition object closerto the file object according to user input; judging whether, when thesearchable condition object is moved within a vicinity of the fileobject, the one or more conditions of the searchable condition objectare similar to the one or more attributes of the one or more data filesin the data unit represented by the file object; and changing, when thesearchable condition object is moved within the vicinity of the fileobject, the shape of the file object or the shape of the searchablecondition object to show attraction if the one or more conditions of thesearchable condition object are similar to the one or more attributes ofthe one or more data files in the data unit represented by the fileobject.
 18. A data processing program product embedded on anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium, comprising: a modulefor storing a plurality of data files and creating a data unitcomprising one or more data files from the plurality of data files; amodule for assigning a file object to the data unit, displaying the fileobject on-screen, and accepting an operating on the file object as anoperation on the one or more data files in the data unit; a module fordetermining one or more conditions, respectively, of the one or moredata files in the data unit from respective attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit; a module for assigning a searchablecondition object to the one or more conditions determined, thesearchable condition object being searchable for the one or moreconditions; a module for displaying the searchable condition object onthe screen and moving the searchable condition object closer to the fileobject according to user input; and a module for judging whether, whenthe searchable condition object is moved within a vicinity of the fileobject, the one or more conditions of the searchable condition objectare similar to the one or more attributes of the one or more data filesin the data unit represented by the file object, wherein, when thesearchable condition object is moved within the vicinity of the fileobject, the module for judging changes the shape of the file object orthe shape of the searchable condition object to show attraction if theone or more conditions of the searchable condition object are similar tothe one or more attributes of the one or more data files in the dataunit represented by the file object.
 19. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium containing a data processing programfor making a computer execute the functions of: storing a plurality ofdata files and creating a data unit comprising one or more data filesfrom the plurality of data files; assigning a file object to the dataunit, displaying the file object on-screen, and accepting an operatingon the file object as an operation on the one or more data files in thedata unit; determining one or more conditions, respectively, of the oneor more data files in the data unit from respective attributes of theone or more data files in the data unit; assigning a searchablecondition object to the one or more conditions determined, thesearchable condition object being searchable for the one or moreconditions; displaying the searchable condition object on the screen andmoving the searchable condition object closer to the file objectaccording to user input; judging whether, when the searchable conditionobject is moved within a vicinity of the file object, the one or moreconditions of the searchable condition object are similar to the one ormore attributes of the one or more data files in the data unitrepresented by the file object, and changing, when the searchablecondition object is moved within the vicinity of the file object, theshape of the file object or the shape of the searchable condition objectto show attraction if the one or more conditions of the searchablecondition object are similar to the one or more attributes of the one ormore data files in the data unit represented by the file object.